Please note: Freedom Fridays have been suspended because of the bankruptcy trial

Press conference and Rally to demand continued Moratorium on water shutoffs

Thursday, Aug. 28, 11 am (gather at 10:45am)

Spirit of Detroit, CAYMC, Jefferson and Woodward, Detroit

Legal action filed to block water shutoffs and restore water service

Petition Containing Over 90,000 Signatures to be Delivered to the Mayor and the Governor, via Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr

People’s Water Board Coalition, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Moratorium Now, and the Michigan Chapter of the National Action Network call a Press Conference to Address Shut-offs, Water Affordability Plan, and to Deliver Over 90,000 signatures to Mayor Duggan and Governor Snyder, via Emergency Manager Orr

DETROIT – A press conference will be held on Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 11:00am in front of the Spirit of Detroit located outside of the CAYMC, where we plan to deliver over 90,000 signatures to Mayor Duggan, and Governor Snyder via Emergency Manager Orr.

In an attempt to preserve the moratorium on water shut-offs, a group of Detroit residents and civil rights attorneys filed court documents over the weekend asking a judge to immediately block the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) from terminating water service to any occupied residence, and to require the restoration of service to occupied residences without water. The ACLU of Michigan and NAACP Legal Defense fund are serving as expert consultants in the ongoing litigation.

Instead, the moratorium ended on Monday, August 25, 2014 and a hearing linking the shutoffs to the policies of the Emergency Manager and the rulings of the bankruptcy judge will be held at the bankruptcy court on September 2, 2014 at 8:30am.

“Without a continued moratorium on water shutoffs, thousands more Detroiters, mostly low income children, seniors, and disabled, will immediately be at risk for shutoff,” says Alice Jennings of Edwards & Jennings, P.C., counsel in the lawsuit, “A comprehensive water affordability plan, a viable bill dispute process, specific polices for landlord- tenant bills and a sustainable mechanism for evaluating the number of families in shutoff status or at risk for shutoff, is necessary prior to lifting the DWSD water shutoff moratorium.”

“The mayor’s plan only consists of proposals and temporary fixes,” said Rev. Charles Williams of the National Action Network-Michigan Chapter. “Until actual policies are in place to ensure that residents have access to affordable water, the water shut-offs cannot be resumed. The current proposal for residents to enter into non-negotiable payment plans is only a short-term solution.”
The People’s Water Board Coalition is asking all allies in the struggle against this affront to humanity to stand with us on August 28th and September 2nd.